A large Love- Reflections Series.

Reflections Series.

Christ the Redeemer.

My reflection and prayer series is about sharing reflections and Prayers which have impacted upon me and have provided food for thought. I hope that they will also nurture your soul and spirit.

My Scripture reflection is 

''Love one another as I have loved you''    John 15:12

My post is called:

                                                              A LARGE LOVE.

 Lord, let me give to others the kind of love You have given me

a love without demands or expectations,

a love great enough to risk rejection,
a love large enough to let go.

What sort of love will you give?

Collect for 29th Sunday of Yr B

COLLECT SERIES

COLLECT

The Collect for the 29th Sunday of Year B reads as follows:

Almighty ever- living God,

grant that we may always conform our will to Yours,

and serve Your majesty with sincerity of heart.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What does God's will mean to me?

2.  How can I conform my will to God's will this coming week?

3. What areas in my life are not in conformity to God's will?

4. What area of my life will I change this coming week towards conformity to God's
     will?

5. How can I serve God's majesty this coming week?

6. What does it mean to have a sincere heart and to serve with a sincere heart?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Today's Gospel reminds us that The Son of Man came to give His life for the ransom of all.  In other words, God gave His only Son to the world to save all of us.
This is momentous when we think of it- God allowing His only Son to come into the world as a human like us in all things except sin.  Jesus knew joy and sadness, happiness and tears, knew the pain of grief when He lost His good friend Lazarus.  He knew the frustrations of life- the disappointments and the good times as well. He knew and experienced it all.

Despite His human fear, He still suffered grievously at the hands of humanity  who tortured Him and provided the worse possible death that could be offered- crucifixion.

Yet, in 3 days rose again- not just for Himself so that we too could share in the transformation and be able to enter Heaven too.  His death and resurrection provided healing for the evil our first parents had done for humanity.  His death and resurrection had cancelled the debt and provided us with a fresh start.

How often do we meditate on this enormous gift that God provided for us?  How often do we think of the sufferings of Christ and what they mean to us?   Do we feel uncomfortable and gloss over it knowing that the resurrection provided new life?

Perhaps as we listen to the Gospel  at Mass, we could hear the words with fresh ears and with fresh insight.  Perhaps look around at the congregation and remember every person in your parish/congregation was saved by Christ.  Every person you meet during the week is also saved by Christ.

We also want to acknowledge our gratitude to God for such a great gift.  We should not take His gift to humanity for granted. We need to accept that Christ suffered and died and rose again for ME.  Fill our hearts again with gratitude and know in our hearts that even if there was only one person on earth, Jesus still would have suffered, died and rose out of love for that person.  He suffered, died and rose again so that we could live life abundantly in His grace.

When I think of Christ's priceless gift, I often think of a hymn to sing- mostly How Great thou Art- the third and 4th verse actually speak to me most.  Perhaps this may help your meditation during the week too.

St Margaret Mary Alacoque - Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today is the feast of St Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690),  is a Roman Catholic Visitation nun and mystic, who after receiving visitations from Jesus Himself, fostered devotion to His  Sacred Heart. At Paray le Monial, God chose her to lead the world back to Christ through His Sacred Heart, favouring her with a number of apparitions between 1673 and 1675. This devotion was officially recognised 75 years after her death. The devotion’s shrine is at Paray Le Monial France where she lays.  Feast day is 16 October.

One of her quotes is

"May faith be the torch which illuminates, animates and sustains us''.

She received visitations from Jesus Himself. However, she suffered because of it as she was not initially believed by her Mother Superior or other theologians of the day. Yet despite the suffering she endured because of it, the devotion became recognised and the chapel at Paray Le Moniel became a shrine to both St Margaret Mary and the visitations of Christ to her and the devotion to the Sacred Heart.

You may wish to listen to this hymn to Sacred Heart of Jesus  or perhaps you might prefer this hymn to Sacred Heart.

Trusting in God's Love and Providence. Reflection Series.

. Reflection Series.

Trusting in God's Love and Providence

My reflection and prayer series is about sharing reflections and Prayers which have impacted upon me and have provided food for thought. I hope that they will also nurture your soul and spirit.

My Scripture reflection is 

''Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God''   Lamentations s3:4

My post is called:

                                   TRUSTING IN GOD'S LOVE AND PROVIDENCE.

 I need not nag my Saviour 
Or make endless small demands-
Everything He sends me 
Passes through His nail- scarred hands.

In our trials and difficulties. may our hearts be continued to be filled with gratitude

Collect for 27th Sunday of Yr B

COLLECT SERIES

COLLECT

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

The Collect for the 27th Sunday of Year B reads as follows:

Almighty ever-living God,

who in the abundance of Your kindness 

surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you,

pour out Your mercy upon us

to pardon what conscience dreads

and to give what prayer does not dare to ask.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In Making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged: -

1. How has God shown you the abundance of His kindness in my life?

2. How will i show God gratitude for His kindness in my life (past) and this coming
    week?

3. How do I recognise God's abundant kindness?

4. In what areas of my life do I need His mercy?

5. Name specifically what my conscience dreads (from the past) and presently?

6.  What do I hope God will give me, which I have not dared to ask in prayer?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

In today's Gospel, Jesus provides His teaching on marriage. God's plan is for a man or woman to marry for life as He quotes the book of Genesis (1:27,2:24).  Jesus provides His disciples who follow ''His way'' a clear ideal of marriage as a lifelong commitment to each other. Lifelong fidelity to each other in marriage by disciples becomes part their response in faith to God's powerful action in the world.  Living as disciples, trying like Jesus to walk His 'walk' as little one before God's power, can be the source of a fidelity in marriage that will last.

The Catholic teaching on marriage is that it is covenant between the 2 people- a man and a woman since both sexes complement each other and have an important role to play in bringing up children from the marriage.

Unfortunately, many marriages (including Catholic) end up in divorce.  This can be for a whole range of reasons including infidelity from one or both partners, abusive relationships.  lack of communication skills which causes many misinterpretations and understanding.

This does not mean that the Sacrament of Marriage in the Church should be changed or watered down. After all, Jesus in this scripture is actually raising the topic of respect of women.  In those times adultery was an injustice which a woman committed against her husband or a man committed against another man through that other man's wife.

For Jesus divorce and remarriage among His disciples by either a man or woman, points to a lack of faith in God, an evil like the infidelity of adultery itself.

Psalm 127 response: May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives also fits in well with the certainty of God's ever loving care for us and consolidates this from the Collect.  It also acts as a prayer for us during the week, especially when we need extra assurance that God will is with us.

A beautiful piece of music "The Lord Bless you and keep you" by Rutter  is  provided to add to your reflective thoughts this week.

God's Promise

REFLECTION SERIES

God's Promise

My reflection and prayer series is about sharing reflections and Prayers which have impacted upon me and have provided food for thought. I hope that they will also nurture your soul and spirit.

My Scripture reflection is 

''The Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deut 31:6)

My post is called:

Christ the Redeemer: 

           GOD'S PROMISE.

God's promise..
Life will bring you many partings through the years, 
but be assured You will never have to say good- bye to Me,
Put Me first, above all others,
For I'm the only Friend you have
Who'll be with you throughout all eternity

Photo: Christ the Redeemer - Pixabay.com ( CCO Creative Commons).